RUSH: Here's Sandra in Ellisville, Mississippi. Hey, Sandra, great to have you on the EIB Network. Hi.

CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush. Much to my shock this morning at 11:15, I'm just gonna make this short and sweet, I get a call from my sixth grader in elementary school saying that I had to bring him another shirt or go home. And I didn't understand what the problem was. He was wearing his brother, who's in the Marine Corps fighting in Afghanistan, a United States Marine Corps shirt that had the logo of the bulldog that said "If you're not the lead dog," on the front. On the back it says, "the view never changes," and it's the rest of the bulldog, and he was flagged to the office by the principal for being inappropriate and offensive.

RUSH: Wait just a second now. What kind of shirt?

CALLER: It's a United States Marine Corps --

RUSH: No, was it T-shirt, a button-down shirt?

CALLER: No, it's a T-shirt that my son got in boot camp.

RUSH: Okay, does the school not permit shirts?

CALLER: Oh, no, they allow T-shirts.

RUSH: They do allow T-shirts.

CALLER: Rebel flags and all. Yeah.

RUSH: Okay. We couldn't wear T-shirts other than gym. I just didn't know. So in Mississippi they're making your son change shirts 'cause it's pro-Marine Corps?

CALLER: I can't figure that one out. I thought maybe I'd come to you in all your wisdom, maybe you could tell me because my mind is like Krakatoa right about now.

RUSH: Well, I can understand a very activist liberal isolated teacher being offended by military displays, honor, things that are pro-military and so forth, 'cause they might think, "This is pro-killing. This is pro-war. I'm not gonna have it in my class." But that's even a stretch in Mississippi. Without being there, I'm at a loss. Has your son said any more?

CALLER: I immediately took him home and my third grader under the premise of stupidity, because I walked in the office and he was sitting there with the shirt inside out. I immediately made him stand up and turn it the correct way, since his brother is fighting for this country.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: In the Marine Corps.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: There's nothing offensive. It just says, "USMC," the bulldog, and it says, "If you're not the lead dog..." His brother gave it to him and said, "Don't ever forget: Never be a follower, always be a leader." The little girl sitting next to him said, "I don't think it's offensive," and the principal... I immediately demanded to speak to the principal. The principal would not confront me and I immediately took my children out. How can our men and women fighting overseas, for any branch of the military, be considered offensive and inappropriate?

RUSH: Well, to a liberal, it is. Look, you know that. You know that there are liberals, in classrooms and everywhere else, who despise the US military.

CALLER: This is a school that I wanted them to attend because -- and hey, I probably shouldn't say this -- they still hand out Bibles. They still have once-a-month Bible classes, and right in front in the main hallway, it has the flag that says, "In God we trust." So I was proud to come back to the Deep South where my conservative Heritage and roots are. You know, and they still believe in what used to be a great country. And then to have this happen today? Ugh! Lord.

RUSH: I'm at a loss. There's a part of me that totally understands this. No, not that "accepts" it, don't misunderstand. I totally understand. The horror stories I've heard from parents about things their teachers do in classrooms, I hear that. But I can't imagine this is school-wide. I can see an isolated teacher trying to make this happen, but school-wide? I don't think I've ever heard of this. I don't think I've ever heard of a student being judged unfit for wearing something military. Maybe camouflage. Well, no, I can't even think of that. I don't know. Maybe somebody will have an answer to this.

What are you gonna do about it?

CALLER: Well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm seriously considering, A, going back to homeschooling; or B, a private school. But the last words I told them in that front office, those liberal Nazi pansies, was, "What's next, they can't wear the American flag on Cinco De Mayo?" And I left. I left.

RUSH: (laughing) What did they say?

CALLER: They couldn't say anything because all they were seeing was my tail end.

RUSH: (laughing) Well, did you feel any satisfaction walking out of there?

CALLER: Like you have no idea, with both my boys under my arms. There's no way. I hope (garbled) and hear that I stood up for him and his fellow Marines and all the other branches out there fighting that I will not -- I will NOT -- tolerate it. You can call me Sugar, Babe, Darlin', Hon, and smack me on the bottom if you want, okay? I want the country back, and this was an absolute slap in my face. And I told them exactly what I thought in the office, and I took my kids home.

RUSH: God bless you.

CALLER: And God bless you!

RUSH: You did what you thought was right, what you had to do. I don't blame you for being livid. I wish I had an answer for you. This is what's frustrating. I wish... (interruption) Well, that's true. You know, folks, I did. Snerdley is very wise to remind me. I did mention things like this in the first hour to explain these overwhelming election returns. It's not just the budget and the spending and all that big issue stuff.

It's so many little things just ticking people off. Like this, and telling people they can't have a standard light bulb anymore, and when they go to TSA and get groped or felt up under the guise of being searched. People are fed up. They're fed up with being told what they can't eat, and what they can and can't do in their own yards and in their own homes. It's just not America anymore.

Now your kid can't wear a T-shirt given to him by a member of the US military that espouses a positive character trait, leadership? It's little stuff like this that's causing this about to boil over here. It's the death of a country by a thousand cuts, not one giant swath like the budget is or the entitlement programs and all that. But this stuff -- which happens to you in your house, where you live every day -- you come up against the sheer force of government like this, or authority.

I was wondering what it looked like. Nothing to complain about. Jerks. I’m sure his brother wore that shirt with his squad in basic. jerks. I heard this call and my first thought was post it on FR. Now the story will grow legs.

7
posted on 05/09/2012 5:34:08 PM PDT
by PilotDave
(No, really, you just can't make this stuff up!!!)

I would guess you are right. I got a shirt with the same words (sans USMC) in Alaska years ago...it had a husky bum, rather than a bulldog...tail up...and erm...all of the male dog bits that are visible when tails are raised high were there.
I never wore it to school though.

It doesn’t sound like the fuss was about the USMC, it was about the doggie rear and the jibe about it. OK, so wear something else as a salute. Not all salty humor from the barracks is appropriate in a primary school.

10
posted on 05/09/2012 5:39:01 PM PDT
by HiTech RedNeck
(Mitt! You're going to have to try harder than that to be "severely conservative" my friend.)

I’m pretty sure the problem was not the USMC, it was the dog and the saying. I haven’t seen the shirt, but the saying is pretty crass. Appropriate for a marine isn’t necessarily appropriate for a 6th-grader.

(OK, now I have - I tried to find it and then saw someone had posted it.)

If the standard is consistently applied (which means most concert t-shirts are out), then I side with the principal.

Went to their website. Didn’t see any phone numbers or email addresses. What exactly is an “Inclusion Teacher” in today’s school environment? When I looked down the list of faculty and staff it amazes me that not only I but my children also were able to complete school and turn out to be contributing citizens without all the extraneous and expensive staff.

13
posted on 05/09/2012 5:45:34 PM PDT
by Grams A
(The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)

It used to be in my day that any T shirt was cool in school, but all were decent at that time. Again, the total ban is easier than a case by case evaluation of decency. (In the case of the doggie shirt why not just have the boy turn it inside out?) Creeping zero tolerance.

14
posted on 05/09/2012 5:46:56 PM PDT
by HiTech RedNeck
(Mitt! You're going to have to try harder than that to be "severely conservative" my friend.)

Go right on down to the local Arny Navy store and get 5 or 6 USMC tee shirts that have no additional statements, sayings, etc. Stick with Semper-Fi, USMC, First to hit the beach (careful on the spelling), etc. and wear one every day. Then sit back and wait for them to hand you a lawsuit!

It may also be helpful to get some contemporaneous data on tees the school allows, but one must be very careful about taking pictures of minors.

Oh, me too ... but my oldest daughter joined the Coast Guard at 18, started smoking, and got tattoos. Now she's one of only a handful of women Gunner's Mates in the CG ;-). I'm hoping she'll outgrow the smoking, but other than that it's not bad.

I got her a Breitbart t-shirt for her birthday!

23
posted on 05/09/2012 6:50:37 PM PDT
by Tax-chick
(Skip the election and let Thomas Sowell choose the next President.)

I saw the shirt in person, it is INAPPROPRIATE. The anatomy of the dogs rear, looks worse than it does in the picture posted on here. And he was given a choice to just turn it inside out. But he chose to call his mother (obviously because he has been taught no respect) and she is blowing it out of proportion.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.